There isn’t too much behind the name. I guess the best way to sum it up would be to say that we are serious about The Smile Mile, but like to have fun while participating at it. All of the team members were familiar with the common phrase Cancer Sucks, we just added a bit of flair to it. “Cancer Sucks Schweaty Balls” was developed from a core group of family members, The Strelow’s, whom all like to joke that Strelow is German for Sweaty. Many of the members are known for their “excessive sweating during various activities” and we like to joke about that all the time. We also spun it off of the Saturday Night Live Skit “Schweaty Balls”. The two ideas were introduced to each other and the group decided it was a hit. The rest is history.

Cancer Sucks Schweaty Balls 2011 team

Just some background information as to why we participate in the smile mile…I grew up with the David family. Our mother’s, Cindy and Philly, were childhood friends. Our families have done everything together. The David children are my siblings with unmatched DNA. As the second generation of this family friendship, we all have seen each other grow up. Some of us are now married and have children of our own. My “in-laws” are very close and spend a lot of time together, by choice, just like the David’s. My husband, our children and I have attended every Smile Mile and the more we talked about this with his family, the more they wanted to participate and show their support to a family not so different than their own. This in turn has flourished into a traveling pack of amateur runners who enjoy spending time with each other and are thankful for the opportunity to support such a great cause. As Jayna David once wrote, “family trumps everything”. No words could be more true in my opinion. I was lucky enough to be born into a great family with wonderful friends and then again to marry into a family that holds the same ideals to be true to them as well. Over the years, I have gotten to know Laura’s family and see the same charm in their family also. Any person that was lucky enough to know Laura, will walk this Earth a better person because of how she touched their life. She was amazing!

Thank you for letting me share this story.

Thanks, Heidi!

Teams that have registered by May 15 will have their team names published on the Laura’s Smile Mile website. Reminder that teams of 10 or more participants registered by May 29th receive a discounted registration rate-only $18 per person!